LITTLE WOMEN, XANADU, & More Set for TMP's Upcoming Season

Just imagine! TMP is all ready to move into our 18th season of award-winning musical theater in Tacoma! Our incredible 2011-2012 season is packed full of characters, music and stories to fill the imagination and transport you to another time or place, all season long. The season will include six Broadway style musicals on the TMP Mainstage and three equally exciting productions just for families from the Tacoma Children's Musical Theater.

The 2011-12 Mainstage season opens September 23rd with Louisa May Alcott's semi-autobiographical classic, Little Women, following the imaginations and adventures of Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy March as they grow up in Civil War America. This wonderful narrative has been brought to life as an exhilarating new musical filled with glorious music, dancing and heart - guaranteeing a night at the theater filled with laughter, tears, and a lifting of the spirit. For the holiday season, TMP is thrilled to present the regional premiere of a new adaptation of the most imaginative of all stories, Peter Pan. This new musical version has delighted audiences in London and abroad with all of the charm and ever-popular characters of J.M. Barrie's classic novel. Opening Thanksgiving weekend, it's a great way to spend the holidays with your family! Our third show on the season brings hilarity on wheels for adults, children and anyone else who has ever wanted to feel inspired! Douglas Carter Beane, one of Broadway's master storytellers - with his formidable gift for parody - doesn't just broaden the imagination, but carries it off to a land where ancient Greece meets Venice Beach in an electrifying spoof on the 1980's movie, Xanadu. In March, TMP proudly presents another regional premiere with the musical adaptation of Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Color Purple. With a joyous score featuring jazz, ragtime, gospel, African music and blues, this inspiring family saga tells the unforgettable story of a woman who finds the strength to triumph over adversity and discover her unique voice in the world. Our fifth show, Happy Days: A New Musical, is another new musical and based on the original TV series set in 1959 Milwaukee - complete with varsity sweaters, jukeboxes and the legendary Arnold's Drive-In. Join the Cunninghams, Ralph Malph, Potsie and the "King of Cool" himself, Arthur Fonzarelli, who come together to save Arnold's from impending demolition in this perfectly family-friendly musical. For our Summer Blockbuster, the Biblical saga of Joseph, his dreams and his coat of many colors returns to TMP in a 10th Anniversary revival production of the vibrant and delightful musical parable, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Throughout the year, patrons can enhance their theater-going experience by attending the six preview presentations entitled Behind the Curtain! at TMP. On the Sunday evening prior to each of the six Mainstage openings, TMP cast, crew, directors and designers provide a free educational and interactive preview packed with enlightening facts about the show, its history, this production, and song and dance highlights from the show.

The Tacoma Children's Musical Theater continues to grow for its sixth exciting season at TMP! Presented by our Mainstage adult performers, these fully-staged musicals based on classic children's literature are geared toward young and old alike, and are a great way to introduce young members to the theatergoing process. Due to the overwhelming popularity of these productions, additional performances have been added for every TCMT show this year! The TCMT season will open in October with a new stage version of the popular children's books, Pinkalicious, the story of one young girl who gets so carried away with her imagination that she quickly learns that too much of a "good thing" is perhaps not such a good thing. In the spring, experience "Pure Imagination" as TCMT brings to the stage Roald Dahl's colorful and timeless, Willy Wonka, filled with the songs from the unforgettable family film. In April, we set sail on the North Atlantic with Rudyard Kipling's classic novel, Captains Courageous, an exciting, seafaring tale about one privileged young boy who finds himself aboard a New England fishing schooner full of burly, robust sailors who eventually help him to learn the value of hard work, spirit and friendship. For teachers, all of these productions will offer additional mid-week student group matinee performances this season. Reservations are already being taken for school groups for Pinkalicious, with school group reservations for the remaining shows available in September 2011. See the website at www.tmp.org/groups.aspx and contact the Box Office to reserve your student groups early because these performances do sell out well in advance!

All of these performances will take place at Tacoma Musical Playhouse, 7116 6th Avenue in Tacoma. All seating for TMP Mainstage and TCMT productions is reserved, so advance purchase is strongly recommended. Season Subscription Packages for the Mainstage go on sale July 12, 2011 and range in price from only $90-$140 for all six shows.

Single show tickets for Mainstage and TCMT productions become available online or through the TMP Box Office on August 9, 2011. Single ticket prices for Mainstage productions range from $20-$27, and TCMT tickets range from $12-$17. Group rates are also available. For single tickets or more information, please visit www.tmp.org or call the TMP Box Office at 253-565-6867 beginning August 9th.

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